Minimum Focus Distance
by TMTF
Summary: Bella Swan is a young and talented photographer who was just offered to do a documentary in South America for National Geographic. Forced to come home early without pay and in need of a new photography gig, what does Alice make her do? Whos Edward Cullen?
1. Minimum Focus Distance

Minimum Focus Distance

**Forgive me as I don't know much about photography no matter how much I wish I did. This chapter has no Edward in it, but he will arrive soon so worry not! If there is anything that I did or wrote wrong in here about photography or otherwise please let me know and I will change it to fit :)**

**Disclaimer: DOT (Don't Own Twilight) or NatGeo**

_**Minimum Focus Distance.**_

The close focus distance or the closest a camera lens can focus.

_Click. Click. Click._

The soft noises from my camera shuttering always made me feel right at home. The soothing sound always relaxed me, even since I was very little, and so I resumed my work, snapping away at the rich green forest in front of me.

A tiny, vibrant frog jumped from a small plant onto the tree just to my right. _Click._

A bird flew over-head, its wings making a loud echo that seemed, somehow, able to fit in with the rest of the not-so-noisy surroundings. _Click._

The sun shone through the canopy, causing such a gorgeous reflection off the small pond and into the trees. Such a marvel should only be allowed in dreamlands. _Click. Click._

I looked around me, taking in the wonderful scene that was Amazon rain forest. The colors were breathtaking, the animals intriguing and calmness and peace just undulated from the place. I sighed in deep contentment. This is what I lived for.

My life, love and passion are nature photography. The scenes never cease to amaze me as they get more and more vibrant and unique, and the unusual, quiet workplace was something that suited me so perfectly.

With that being said, I was never one for large crowds or the hustle-bustle of the city. There was art, sure, but nothing that compared to the natural beauties of life. Man-made came second, and that's how I've viewed things for the last twenty-two years of my life.

I made my way back to my small tent just ten minutes from where I was. Occasionally I would snap a picture of some thing or another, but my main focus was to get back to my makeshift base.

I wasn't here in Brazil all alone, of course. My company sent another photographer with me so we could cover more ground for their up coming documentary of the place. As I weaved and dodged through the vegetation I couldn't stop myself from thinking about him. Emmett McCarty: Possibly the funniest and most loveable 'big brother' on Earth. Emmett, standing taller than six feet and with muscles that would put even the most serious of body-builders to shame, seemed rough, angry and intimidating at first. But the instant you saw his smile, or the moment when that first something slipped out of his mouth, you saw the big, soft, loveable, laughable teddy bear that he was.

It was strange seeing Emmett with a camera in the natural world; it was impossible to get him to shut up. Usually he would ramble on and on about anything and everything that he thought about, not caring about who heard or how loud he was being. But when he was in photography mode, it was certainly a sight to see his massive frame search his surroundings so…delicately(? I'm not sure of the exact word I should use here) with a small black camera in tow. I remember when we started out in Bolivia, the first time I saw Emmett at work. He bent down next to a small bush and started talking to it. Low comforting words were coming out of his mouth, but to whom they were directed to? Not a clue.

Apparently, even photography wasn't enough to get Emmett to shut up, just enough to get him to lower the volume.

Once I got back to my tent and removed my camera from my neck, I threw myself on my makeshift cot. Spending eight hours in a hot and humid rainforest was exhausting. Emmett wasn't back yet, and so I decided to take a quick nap before we headed out for our night rounds. I heard my walkie-talkie beep and heard someone on the other line.

"Bella?"

I picked up my walkie-talkie, not recognizing the voice.

"Uhm…who is this?"

"B-Bella Swa-an?" The connection was horrible.

"Yes, that's me. Go."

"Justin Meyer."

Oh! He's my boss! Crap…"Oh! Sir, yes what can I do for you?"

"Uhm, Bella someone called the main office for you from New York yesterday. They said that it was of upmost importance you get home as soon as possible," he said to me. "She sounded stressed. I'm sorry that I couldn't reach you yesterday."

What? What happened? Why would I need to be home? "Sir, who called?" I asked.

"One…Alice…Bra-"

"Alice! Oh my God what happened?"

There was awful loud fuzz from the background noise before he voiced anything.

"I'm not sure, Bella. Just that you need to get back to the U.S. You're scheduled to leave in five hours from the airport in Sao Paulo."

"But I haven't even finished the trip yet! I still have four days! And what about Emmett? You can't leave him here alone!" I protested. Of course I wanted to be there for Alice, no matter what happened, but I also dreaded leaving my personal heaven out here.

Justin sighed on the other line. "You have nothing to worry about, Miss Swan. Your plane expenses are taken care of, and Mr. McCarty and his new partner will be able to handle the last few days."

I paused before answering. Sitting on my bed I ran through all the possibilities in my mind of what happened back home and why I needed to be there. Mr. Meyer started to talk on the other side.

"Miss Swa-" I pushed the button on the side of my walkie-talkie so he wouldn't interrupt my thinking.

I was told at the beginning of this trip that I would be in South America for two weeks. I would travel through three different countries and take pictures along the way at every stop, once in the morning through the afternoon and again from sunset to ten PM (or differing depending on the rest of the crew). There would be a camera crew and a medical expert on board with us. The camera crew would shoot around the clock, alternating teams every few hours. We wouldn't be in any of the shots except for outtakes or when we were all just hanging around. We were to return to America after the journey with out footage/film in hand. Once they were taken in, we would be paid for our work and then would be off on our merry way to do whatever the hell we wanted. We had to turn in _two weeks_ of work, no matter what. Every photo we took was recorded on our cameras so that the editors at home would be able to sort through all of our stuff.

Something hit me then. If I didn't turn in all of my work, I wouldn't get paid. If I left early, I _wouldn't get paid._ Shit! I needed the money really and truly badly, and if I left early all of that would go down the drain. And, if anyone needs any further clarification of the matter, National Geographic offered to pay _a freaking __**lot**_ of money for this documentary footage. I needed this money badly.

I released the button and stammered into the device, "Mr. Meyer?"

"Swan! What the hell was that about?"

"Oh, uhm sorry sir, I didn't realize my finger was on the button." I lied, uncaring towards whether or not he believed me. "Uh, if I left early I would still get paid, right? I mean no hard feelings or anything since I have no control over the matter…" I figured it was worth a shot.

"No, I'm sorry, dear Bella, but you would not get paid." Bam. Shot and missed.

I couldn't believe this. I wouldn't get paid because Alice decided that now, _four days_ before I was scheduled to come home, to have a crisis? She thought that now was a good time to pick up the phone and drag Bella back into reality? Did she seriously forget me talking to her about this?

I sighed. It probably wasn't her fault that something happened, so I couldn't really be mad at her, could I? Granted, I'll force her to pay my rent for a few months but nothing too serious could happen if I left now, right?

I tried to convince myself that leaving here wouldn't be too bad, but only half of me was agreeing. This opportunity was way too good to have passed up. Getting published by NG was one of my big goals I life.

"Will my pictures still be used in the documentary?" I asked warily.

"Only if you give us consent to, but Bella we'll need to talk this over further, and I don't feel that it is the best idea to have it on such a public device." This relieved me some.

"Oh," I stammered, "o-of course not."

"Pack your bags and get in the Jeep Bella. See you soon," was his generous and well-thought-out parting line.

I dropped the thing onto my bed and played with the ends of my long hair. Justin wasn't really giving me a choice in the matter, which aggravated the crap outta me. Regardless of my ill feelings towards my boss right now, I did start to feel concerned for Alice now. If anything happed to her I would personally kill the person responsible.

Alice was my best friend and roommate. I met her three years ago through a friend and found that we were both attending college in New York; her for dance at Juilliard and myself for photography at RIT. We became fast friends and decided to move in together once I was done with school considering she was a year younger. I adopted her as a sister, basically, and now she was my rock and very best friend.

I rummaged through my tent for all of my things and threw them into my suitcase. I ran around the small space a few more times as panic started to overcome me, and I checked every nook and cranny for something that I might've forgotten.

I grabbed my camera, pillow, iPod and suitcase and walked out of the tent, knowing in the back of my head I forgot something but unable to figure out exactly what.

As I headed towards the Jeep, I saw Emmett emerge from the forest to my right. The small clearing we were in allowed him _just_ enough space to fit between the trees and the tent.

"Emmett!" I exclaimed. I ran over to hug him after dropping my bag on the ground. I hugged as much of him as I could manage before pulling back and explaining. Once I finished, Emmett looked horrified.

"You're…leaving?" he asked. I shook my head and looked at the ground.

Emmett grabbed me in a huge bear hug. "Well, have fun!" He set me down. "Don't get into too much trouble," he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I stuck my tongue out at Emmett, gave him one last hug and made him promise to call me as soon as he got back to the States. We had become so close over these past days; it was hard to imagine not seeing my 'brother' again.

"Oh, Emmett!" I wheeled. "I have this strange feeling I forgot something, so if you find whatever it is would you mind bringing it to me when you're in New York?"

Emmett smiled his goofy grin, "Sure thing, Bells." He waved as I hopped into the Jeep and one of the camera guys started to drive away. Someone had to take the thing back once I was gone.

We made our way down the small trail and I waved back to Emmett and my own little haven until no longer in sight.

**And so we have chapter one! Please review and let me know what you're thinking about it. Hope you liked :) **


	2. Protective Filter

**Okay, slight Bella OOC here. Sorry, that wasn't supposed to happen. :/  
Thank you to those who helped me with my writers block problem and big thanks to .Cucumber for advertising :) Much love :)  
And sorry I haven't updated. I'm bad at that. Well I hope all of you reviewers enjoyed your lint rollers :) There's a story behind that but that's for another time :) I have one last apology because this chapter is boring…ugh. It was just a filler and everything picks up from here I pinky-thumb promise!  
I hope you enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: DOT**

_Protective Filter._

A clear glass filter put onto a lens with the primary objective of protecting the lens surface from damage.

I drummed my fingers against my thigh as I looked out the dark window and waited to get off the plane. We had arrived in New York twenty minutes ago, but the morons up front wouldn't let us off the aircraft. My red RIT hoodie covered the top part of my face as I leaned my head against the cool window, practically praying to get off the plane. Apparently I had been bouncing my leg up and down because the older lady I was sitting with who I had somehow, miraculously, forgotten her name, placed her hand on my knee. She smiled up at me and told me something about how 'patience is a virtue' or close to it. I was forced to read lips since my iPod was blasting and I wasn't planning on taking it out anytime soon.

"Why don't you call that lovely friend of yours…Alice, is her name? To tell her you'll be late?" the woman mouthed.

Reluctantly, I took out my earphones. "I'm sorry?"

She smiled again and motioned to her cell phone. "Call your friend," she placed the phone in my hand.

I took the phone and flipped it open, thanking the woman.

Her wallpaper was a picture of an adorable kid, maybe three or four. He had short brown hair and the cutest blue eyes. He was looking up at the camera and smiling hugely at whoever was taking it. He looked like the kind of kid that you just wanted to hug and never let go.

"Cute, idn't he?" the woman beside me smiled. I looked at her and felt myself smiling back.

"Adorable," I said sincerely. In all honesty he reminded me exactly of Alice. She had blue eyes and brown hair, as well, but her hair was much darker and a little longer than the boy's; Alice's eyes were a pale blue and her spiky hair was nearly black. The smile the kid had on his face reminded me of how Alice is always happy, even though her definition of happy is closer to other's euphoric or extravagant. She always had an ear-splitting grin on her face and was always bouncing off the walls. Alice loved, loved, _loved_ to shop for anything and everything –and by anything and everything, I mean _anything_ and _everything. _Some may not see how this could be potentially disastrous or humiliating, but please trust me on this. If you don't have to shop with Alice, avoid it. Please. You'll thank me one day.

I turned back to the kid and punched in Alice's number. It rang three times before my pixie friend answered.

"Hello?" she answered, sounding tired and groggy. I suppose the part about it being nearly 3 AM here had something to do with that... Despite the time, not being greeted by the eccentric and bubbly ways of my friend was still a little unsettling.

"Now, Alice Brandon!" I scolded playfully, "Is that anyway to answer your phone? I haven't talked to you in weeks and this is the welcome I get? I guess I'm unloved…" I suggested, joking.

"Oh, Bella!" she sniffled, sounding congested. "I'm so happy you called! I missed you so much, where are you? How was your trip? Whose phone is this? Did you have fun? How was South America? Are-" she fired off questions like a game show host and I laughed before she started up a new round.

"I missed you, too, Alice! I'm at the airport but I'm still on the plane. My trip was awesome. The woman I'm sitting next to on the plane has so graciously lent me her phone 'cause mine's in my suitcase. I had oodles and oodles and colossals of fun and South America is _gorgeous_," I answered all of her questions.

"Oh, Bella that's great I'm so glad you had a good time," she said. There was a strange undercurrent in her tone that made me think there was something she wasn't telling me. Which there was, of course, but she was doing a pretty good job of hiding the - what? Sorrow in her voice? I suppose that works.

"And you took some ah-_mazing_ pictures I presume?" she yawned.

"Yep." I replied simply before following suit with yawning also.

"Do you need me to come pick you up? I forgot that you didn't have a car there." She asked.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble that'd be great, thanks. I need to get off the phone now; they're finally letting us off the plane and I think I might start kicking and screaming if I don't get off super soon. Love ya, Ali," I ended.

"You too, Bells! See you soon!" the line went dead as she hung up. I flipped the phone closed and handed it back to the woman. "Thank you so very much."

"You are most welcome, dear."

The stewardess called everyone to attention, looking tired and bored herself, telling us that we were allowed to exit the plane. She thanked us for flying with them and hoped we had enjoyed our flight.

After racing off the plane and through baggage claim and customs, eager to leave all traces of the airport behind, I simply couldn't help it when my feet guided me towards the food court. I figured that since Alice and I lived a good half hour from the airport, I still had a plenty of time before she showed up. I shuffled to the McDonald's as fast as my tired body would let me, positively craving French fries, and ordered just that. I walked to one of the empty tables with my food and set my bag on top. I dug through it to find my phone and yelled a little too loudly when I finally spotted it, earning a few stares and snickers from nearby travelers. A few people even glared at my noise level. Oops.

I turned my baby on and waited for the long missed wallpaper and instant communication while nibbling on my fries. I didn't mind having basically no contact in Brazil, but in the world that is New York City and with someone as busy as I am, communication is an essential part of life.

Countless missed calls, voicemails and text messages flitted across the screen before I hit the 'end' button. I wouldn't look at them now; it would take much too much time. I continued to eat my fries not thinking about anything in particular.

When I was finished devouring my food I hitched my bag on my shoulder and made my way down through the terminals, looking for the parking lot. You would think that between someone where the airport was practically a second home and with the giant signs that were hung everywhere _anyone_ could make their way through an airport. Leave it to Bella Swan to prove you wrong on that, my friend. Just leave it to me.

As I circled aimlessly though the airport I decided to ask for directions on one of the many convenient shops located along the walls.

Yes, _directions. _Don't judge me; I can't help it if my internal compass doesn't function right.

I stepped in one of the many shops and wandered around, looking for something to catch my interest. I picked up a chocolate chip Odwalla bar and an orange G2 before even making it ten feet into the place. By the time I had hit the register, I had picked up four different magazines and a pack of gum for some reason. Two gossip magazines, a NatGeo (my guilty pleasure) and a fashion magazine for Alice. I popped some Trident Splash in my mouth before I paid for anything, unable to resist. I tossed my items on the counter as my phone buzzed in my pocket.

'_Honey, I'm home!' _Alice wrote.

I tapped out that I would be there in a minute and put my phone away and grabbed my wallet. I paid for my stuff and asked the cashier where the parking lot was. She looked at me like I had three heads but eventually pointed me in the right direction. I thanked her and blew a huge bubble before walking away. I pulled out my iPod from my pocket set it on shuffle while I put the earphones in.

Five minutes later I found the doors to the parking lot and picked up the pace a little. I hurried to the doors and was relieved beyond belief when I was officially out of the airport. Alice spotted me and I saw a flashy, yellow Porsche pull up right next to the sidewalk. The driver's door flew open and before I knew it I was being tackled by the Energizer Bunny herself.

"Bella!" she exclaimed as she hugged me and bounced up and down. I returned the hug and kissed her spiky hair. "I missed you so much!"

Even with Alice covering whatever was bugging her up, it was still blatantly obvious that something was wrong. The areas under her eyes were red and puffy even through the cover-up, and her cheeks were flushed from what probably was the doing of a major sob episode. I felt horrible for her, as Alice never cried and she seemed to be trying hard to cover the fact that she was up. I don't understand why she would try to, though, because I'm here so I can comfort her. I don't want Alice to feel like she has to be strong or that she can't cry on my shoulder, when truly she can. Although I knew something was bothering her deeply and it irked me so, Alice would let me know what is wrong when she's good and ready. And so I replied like nothing was wrong.

"Alice! I missed you, too!"

Alice pulled away and looked me up and down, sniffling once as she did so. Her eyes bugged out her head as she stared at me. "My God, you've gotten fat!"

Wh-what?!

I looked down frantically at myself and started to pat my legs and stomach, making the fabric of my sweats retract to my figure.

"Oh, thank God!" I looked up at her. Her hand was over her heart and she was looking at the sky. "It's just your retarded clothes! Which are hideous, by the way."

I rolled my eyes at her. "Wow, thanks Alice," I said sarcastically. She just smiled and laughed.

"Hungry?"

"A little. I just had some fries and I bought a snack in the one shop but I could go for something if you're up for it."

"Sounds good." Alice smiled before hugging me again and running over to the driver's side of the Porsche.

We pulled into a small twenty-four hour diner a few minutes away and started to talk about anything and everything. Alice told me how she went to go see some new movies and how she had some auditions scheduled for next week. She asked me about my trip and where I went and who I was with. I told her all about Emmett and South America and the camera crew and the forest in general. Once again I didn't bring up why I was currently in America and not in Brazil.

At five AM we left the diner to head home. Alice was still exploding with energy from her coffee – the place only had regular instead of decaf, unfortunately – so she ended up driving while I sat lazily in the passenger side, listening to my iPod in one ear. We brought up bits and pieces of conversation, touching up on anything we hadn't yet hit.

We pulled into the parking lot of our apartment building some time later, and I felt dead on my feet. I grabbed my bag while Alice helped me drag myself through the lobby and to the elevator. By the time we reached our room, I could no longer open my eyes, and by the time I flopped onto my bed I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

*~*~*~*~*

I woke up the next morning in my bed at the apartment. It was strange to wake up to a small, destructive pixie singing and bouncing on my bed instead of the soothing sounds of the forest and the bright sunlight.

Wait – what?

"Alice!" I screeched. I took my pillow from under me and lobbed it at her tiny form that happened to be dominating my bed at the moment. Alice dodged the blob by leaning gracefully to her left and then back closer to me. I closed my eyes forcefully and rolled over while covering my face with my hands. I groaned loudly while Alice was talking and I adjusted the volume depending on how loud or long she would talk, effectively drowning her out. This annoyed the shit out of her.

"Agh!" Alice yelled, hopping off my bed. "Isabella I hope that you know what you're getting into!" I knew she would be jabbing a finger in my direction as she said this. I smiled into my pillow; I knew something bad was going to happen, but her reactions were always amusing.

Alice slammed the door to my room as she stomped out, only – little did I know – that she would interrupt my new found peace again just moments later. Usually she would wait to get revenge, but I guess this was her exception.

Alice burst into my room carrying a large pillow from one of the couches on one hand and a big glass of ice water in the other. She hopped onto my bed without spilling the water and stood over me, face dark and angry.

"Isabella Swan," she growled menacingly. I flipped over to look at her and to see that the water glass was tipped slightly in my direction. I felt that dark plumes of purple smoke around her face would be appropriate here. Maybe some skulls or something…

"If you do not get out of bed this _instant,_ I will gladly pour this glass of ice water onto your face, Bella Baby."

I glared up at her with my eyes narrowed."You wouldn't dare," I tried. The glass tipped farther and the water crept closer to the edge.

Of course she would. I knew that, but I wanted to see how far I could push her and how much information I could gather before I had to move. This bed was simply too comfortable and I felt as if I didn't get nearly as much sleep as I would've liked.

"Would you like to bet your current, not-covered-in-water state on it?" she sneered.

Eh, no.

I groaned loudly. "Alice!" I whined, stretching out her name. "Do we _have_ to go shopping now? I just got back and I want to sleep and-" I looked over to the digital clock on my bedside table. It read 7.02AM. I gaped at it.

I whipped my head around to look back at Alice. "It's seven fa-ducking AM! What is wrong with you? Two hours of sleep, Alice! I could _kill _you!" I ranted.

Alice threw her head back and cackled. I continued to stare/glare at her as she resumed some composure, but she was still unable to wipe the smile fully off of her face. She beamed at me. "Well, Bella, darling, if you do not recall, I had three cups of coffee two hours ago and it's also light outside. You know I don't tolerate sleeping in and I have money to spend! The mall is a-waiting and I just _know_ there's a pair of Jimmy Choo Corsica's with my name written all over them…"

Damn coffee. But those shoes were awfully cute…

I rolled my eyes at her, unable to resist. "I hate you, Alice. You owe me _huge_ for this and just so you know, I don't have any money to spend on clothes right now…" I hinted at me not getting paid.

"Silly Bella," _Trix are for kids…_ "you know that it's always on me. Besides, you would never buy anything on your own if it wasn't for my expertise. Get up now. Chop, chop. Shower and get ready. Twenty minutes. Shoo," she waved her hand at me.

Considering she was still standing over me, it was rather difficult to get up.

"Uhm, Alice?"

"Yes, Bella?" she sighed. "Time's a-wasting."

I gestured up to her, hoping to indicate that I couldn't move.

"Oh, right." Alice rolled her eyes as the light bulb flicked on in her head. She dumped the glass of water on me nonchalantly and tossed the pillow on my face before lightly hopping off the bed and walking gracefully to the door.

I sputtered under the pillow, unable to move and still in slight shock. I was not expecting that in the least. I heard my bedroom door open and Alice say something about hurrying up and then the door creak shut again.

Considering it was too early for a game of 'Bella-Runs-Through-House-Chasing-Alice-And-Falls-On-Her-Ass-Injuring-Herself', I obediently got up out of bed and walked to the bathroom that connected to mine and Alice's rooms. I locked both doors and turned the water to an almost scalding hot temperature. I took a fresh towel out of the cabinet and set it next to the sink, which happened to be littered with tissue boxes, empty and new alike. I threw the empty ones away and felt a pang of guilt for both Alice and myself. For her because she was obviously in pain, and for me for not being a better friend for bringing it up. I would today, though. I wasn't going to beat around the bush.

The steam filled the small room quickly as I undressed and hopped in, absolutely adoring the way the water felt against my skin and muscles.

I turned on my little waterproof radio and the disk started to play 'Cha-Cha Slide'. I did everything the song told me to as I got clean, and found myself dancing and singing to the rest of the mix. 'The Macarena' and 'Too Sexy For My Shirt' played as I stepped out, and by the time I had blown my hair dry and changed, the old disc had ended with the Pokemon theme.

When I left the bathroom, I found my clothes for today were so _graciously_ laid out for me. I hate it when Alice does that – never letting me pick out my own clothing – even though it does help to have your own personal stylist. She has impeccable taste, that much no one can deny, but some of the things she chose for me to wear were a bit too risqué for my liking. She must've been happy that I was going shopping with her since she just grabbed a pair of faded black skinny jeans, a white cami and a navy blue boyfriend cardigan; nothing crazy at all.

I threw the clothes on and looked myself over in my full-length mirror. My dark hair was in waves to the center of my back, and with what Alice picked out, I really didn't look too bad. I opened my bedroom door to walk out to the kitchen when I noticed my two shoe options for the day on the ground. On the right there was a nice, sensible pair of navy blue ballet flats; on the left, a pair of navy blue and white pumps.

Now, considering I was someone who lacked any shape or form of balance, choosing the flats should be a no-brainer, right? Right.

But, damn. Those were the cutest pumps I had ever seen. I'm talking like cuter-than-a-puppy-dog cute. They positively _screamed_ 'Death Trap' but on the contrary radiated 'Want Me'. I knew that if I were to wear those bad boys I would feel on top of the world if I didn't end up breaking my neck first.

I looked frantically back and forth between the two pairs of shoes for a good minute, torn as to which to wear. I think I even started biting my lip at one point before Alice took some pity on me.

"You know, you could bring them both," she said nonchalantly from the couch as she was popping another apple slice in her mouth.

I ran up to the couch and grabbed her from behind, bouncing up and down and squealing. Shopping didn't get me excited, but I was a woman who loved her shoes.

Alice laughed and hopped up off the couch when I let her go.

"Ready?" she asked me excitedly. I nodded and started to laugh when she jumped and squealed. She picked up an empty tissue box and a small trash can that had been moved and ran to the other side of the kitchen, which was connected to the living room, and grabbed two purses. She squeaked and threw one at me before grabbing my shoes and stuffing them in her bag, and she latched on to my wrist and started to drag me out of our apartment. I was still barefoot, but that didn't seem to bother Alice at the moment.

*~*~*~*~*

While we were shopping, I would find that sometimes my mind would wander its way back to Brazil whenever I saw an exotic print or while Alice was in the dressing room, leaving me to my thoughts. In true Alice fashion, though, she would always interrupt my daydreams and drag me to another store, picking out several outfits and shoving me in the dressing room.

So after countless hours, twenty pairs of shoes, thirty separate bags a few thousand dollars later, Alice let me have a rest on one of the benches inside the mall. She ran off to get some Starbucks for us both, leaving me to fend off predators from our plethora of packages.

After a few minutes, I saw Alice sprinting through the mall with two cups in her hands, causing people to literally jump out of her way. She didn't trip once, even though she was wearing heels, and she didn't seem to give a flying duck if her skirt hitched up a little. I wish I could do that. If it was me running, not only would I fall too many times to count, but I would make sure to stop every few steps to pull my skirt down to an acceptable height. Alice was always much more outgoing than the shy girl that I am, and a too short skirt would be the(one of many) death(s) of me.

"Bella!" Alice yelled.

"Alice!" I called across the space. People were staring at both of us, but I tried to pretend I didn't notice as my face and neck burst into flames.

Alice finally made it to my bench panting, threw some of the bags off of me and sat sideways on my lap. She looked at me and her bright blue eyes were sparkling, her smile infectious. I grinned back at her as she handed me my Iced Chai and asked her what that was all about and she swung her short legs to and fro, smiling wider and wider each time she pumped them.

"Guess what!" Alice squeaked in her sing-song voice. She drew out the 'what' and looked up at the ceiling of the mall with her hands over her heart.

"What?" I matched her happy tone as I smiled as well.

"I met the cutest boy I have ever seen! I'm talking like hot! I'm talking...damnit, Bella!" At this point her arms flailed in front of her face as if to help get her point across. " I think I'm in love!" Alice giggled and fake swooned as she leapt off of my lap. She stood up straight and said 'love' again, stretching it out.

"Loove," she said, stretching it.

"Loove," I said in a low, pitifully seductive masculine voice.

"La-huv!" Now she almost sung it whilst looking at a random spot on the floor with her eyebrows pulled together.

"La-ah-uh-ah-ve," I sang it so it sounded like that lady's voice on the intro on American Idol.

"La-la-la-love," she belted out like Wes Scantlin from 'Puddle of Mudd'.

"Love Shack! Baby, Love Shack!" I yelled. I heard someone behind me say 'Love Shack, Baby!' just like the guy in the song. I laughed and turned around to smile before hearing Alice feed another song.

"I wanna make love in this club!"

"…Right now, na na!" It felt silly to say the same thing over again so I just threw a different ending on.

"You keep your love locked down!"

"L-O-V-E's just another word I never learned to pronounce!"

Alice looked pointedly at me, then, putting her hands on her hips and tapping her foot on the linoleum floor, "You know, that song kind of goes against what we've been going for."

"Yea, I know. I just couldn't think of any others off the top of my head," I said, smiling. "Plus, you have to admit it's a good song."

Alice took her hands off her hips and smiled while sitting down next to me. "Too, true. Too, true."

During the course of our 'love song' outbreaks, a few people stopped to stare at us. They stopped to look at the five-foot-nothing hyper-active pixie and the unfortunate girl buried under all the shopping bags. When I broke out of my reverie, then did I start to notice just how many people had stopped to stare at us. My previous blush was miniscule in comparison to this newly discovered one. Alice started to sip at her coffee, oblivious to the people staring. Well, she probably wasn't, actually. Alice was always one for attention.

"So," I started, tuning my attention away from the lolly-gaggers. "Tell me more about this guy you met."

Alice whipped her head around so fast I had to blink a few times before my brain comprehended the fact that she moved and was staring at me. "Oh, Bella! We were in line and we just started talking and he even paid for our coffee! And look!" Alice pulled her sleeve up her arm and thrust it out for me to look at. In large blue marker was a phone number with little red hearts that decorated the surrounding flesh. I looked back at her and she was smiling so wide it probably hurt. Her eyes were positively sparkling, waiting for me to reply.

"Where'd you get the red marker?"

She kept on smiling, "That little boy couldn't color inside the lines to save his life."

I looked, well more like gaped, at her before bursting out laughing.

She pulled the sleeve back down and looked down at the floor, playing with her coffee sheepishly. "His name's Jasper. I really like him."

"Alice that's awesome," I smiled at her.

And so we talked on that bench for another twenty minutes before grabbing our things and heading home to our apartment.

When we walked inside, my first instinct was to drop my bags and run to the bathroom. I mean a girl can only hold herself for so long, right? As I ran through the small apartment I took notice to the giant pile of mail on the kitchen counter. "Alice, look at this mail! Didn't you open anything while I was away?" I yelled as I ran exceedingly fast towards the bathroom. I heard her mumble something from the front doorway before I collided with the bathroom door, but I chose to ignore it. "Ow," I wined from the floor, rubbing my head.

Alice chuckled and set her bags on the living room table before sitting herself at the kitchen counter where the excessive mail was piled up. I stood up, dizzy, and let myself into the bathroom.

When I walked out of the bathroom a minute later, I saw Alice sitting at the kitchen table, a few stray tears running down her face as she stared at a piece of paper.

"Alice?" I called quietly. When she didn't look up I called a little louder. "Alice?"

Her head snapped up and her eyes went wide when she found me staring at her. She quickly shoved the paper under the rest of the mail and tried to wipe her face of all remaining tears. I ran over and hugged her, but I didn't know why exactly she was upset.

"Alice, what is it, Baby?" I asked frantically.

"Nothing, Bella. I'm fine," she replied with a watery smile.

As much as I loved Alice I was sick of her bullshit. I said I wasn't going to beat around the bush, and so I'm not. I shoved through the mail to find the offending piece of paper despite all of Alice's protests. When I finally found it, I stood up and read the first three lines before freezing completely.

"Bella, my dad's dead." Alice refused to look at me and continued to stare at the tabletop. She sniffled a few times before eventually bursting out in tears.

In my hand I held a funeral invitation.

I sat down with Alice and cried with her, hugging her as I allowed her to ruin my shirt, and in return she allowed me to ruin her own.

**Bleh. Not only did that take way too long to write, but that chapter annoys the hell out of me. I hate it with a deep and fiery passion.  
Okay, well please review :) You will be rewarded with another household item if you do!  
Much love 3**


	3. Camera Back

**Redone! (the plot's obviously still the same, but it's a little more polished) :) **

_Hello! Its been a while since ive updated lol…sorry about that. I had a stroke of inspiration today and I wrote this in a few hours. Please forgive me, but it's rough and a little choppy. Overall, it gets to the point, but I would like to inform you that I'm going to re-write it. It wont be this weekend (I'll be in DC and traveling around PA) but next week I'll hopefully have the edited version up. It'll be longer, more flow-y, and Bella will be more Bella-y as well as Alice. I might throw the meeting in there, but idk yet.___**On that note, I'm looking for someone to beta this story. If you're interested please let me know!!**

**Once again and always, there's some stuff in this chapter that prob wouldn't work out in real life. Please keep in mind that it's a fanfic, but I ALWAYS welcome help on the subject! Real photographers out there please don't kill me!**

**Disclaimer : DOT (or anything else mentioned in this chapter! No copyright infringement intended)**

_**Camera Back.**_

The rear-most panel of a camera body. Some cameras support interchangeable backs in order to support different features and allow the photographer to switch from one film type to another.

For some reason, nothing I was doing, had been doing or will be doing could help me in this current predicament. After an unfortunate all-nighter, three tubs of Ben & Jerry's, and four sad movies later, Alice was still mumbling in her sleep. It was a habit she picked up from me apparently, probably after all of those months of insomnia when we had to camp out in the living room due to the interior decorators Alice had hired. She always shook me awake in the early morning to get me to stop talking, but that usually just resulted in me glaring at her, rolling over and continuing my nonsense rambles.

Alice was on the floor of the living room, having been too out of it last night to register that she wasn't – in fact – in her bedroom. She continued to mumble about her father and ice cream and watermelon. I don't know where the watermelon came into the equation; I think it was just a random dream. I smiled down at her as she flopped in the floor and giggled when she started to snore lightly.

Several minutes later she started rolling around again, while I – having been up for several hours – had cooked, listened to her, run some errands and dug through old pictures of her family. It was honestly boring without Alice. I couldn't find myself to do anything interesting without her awake and bugging the daylights out of me.

But to say that in those several hours I got nothing of importance done would be nonsense. Trivial things were accomplished, true, but I also laid out a plan for my portfolios, arranged our calendar to fit in her father's funeral and grabbed a fruit smoothie from a vendor below on the street. I love those.

And so now I was currently sitting at our kitchen table, sorting through the endless unopened mail while simultaneously writing a letter to Justin, my boss. I couldn't quite figure out what there was to write; I mean I went to work, got called back, and was denied both pay and entry. Granted I could complain (and would make damn sure I would) but I had to remind myself on several occasions to be professional about it. Nothing seemed to be working out, though. Every time I wrote something down I would read it several thousand times, contemplate how it could be taken by my boss and the editors, and then proceed to erase it and skip back to the mail pile. It was becoming impossible to get any work done.

Alice made grunting noises now before rolling over so far that she hit her head on the leg of out coffee table. I threw my hand up in front of my mouth to stifle my giggles when she looked up. Her normally spiky hair was flat on one side and she looked as if she didn't know where she was.

The poor girl grumbled something incomprehensible before pulling at her untamed head of hair and wrestling to get up from inside the sleeping bag. After several futile attempts, she made her way to the fridge simply to proceed to slide down it to the floor. I looked on at her amusedly before continuing to sort through the monster of a mail pile.

"'Morning, Bells," she slurred.

"Good Afternoon, Alice."

"How was your evening?"

"Besides having to listen to you talk and gaining eight pounds it was alright." Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little bit here. I only gained two pounds from the ice cream…I checked. "How was yours? Did you actually sleep or was it just random rolling?" I giggled.

She chuckled tiredly, "No, there was actually some sleep mingled in with the other stuff. I can't believe I started sleep talking. I'm getting more like you every day," she mused. Alice lifted herself from the tile floor and clawed her way back up the fridge. "Did you eat anything or should I make you something?"

"I ate a few hours ago. And even if I didn't, Alice, I wouldn't trust you to make a poptart." She waved her hand dismissively at the comment before continuing to rummage around for something suitable to eat. She closed the door only to reopen it several seconds later to grab the milk from the door and set it on the kitchen counter. She grabbed her favorite cereal, a bowl and a spoon and fixed herself some Captain Crunch.

"What are you doing?" she asked with her mouth full as she sat down.

"Organizing the mail you refused to look at for the past week."

"Oh. Sorry about that, Bella. It's just with the whole - "

"I know, Alice." I cut her off with a small smile. "Don't worry about it." She smiled a small, grateful smile at me before looking back down at her cereal. She didn't need to talk about this right now. Maybe in a day or two, but I knew the wound was much too fresh to rip back open. Besides, my selfish side couldn't help but hope for a quiet day; I had loads of paperwork and bills to catch up on and another crying episode really wouldn't help any.

"Do you maybe want to go to a movie today?" she asked tentatively.

I continued on with the mail, separating everything into piles while playing with a bobby pin I had stuck in my mouth.

"Maybe," I offered. "I have a lot to do but we should definitely do _something_. What do you have planned for today?" Please not shopping, please!

"Um, well I'm picking up new music from my dance partner and I'm supposed to go out on a date with some guy later on, but I'm figuring I should just cancel. I'm not really in the mood."

I looked up at her incredulously. "Are you serious?" I asked. "Since when isn't Alice in the mood for dressing up?"

"Since her father died," she mumbled.

"Ah, Alice don't worry about that just this second. Go out on a date! It'll make you feel so much better. Maybe you'll meet the guy of your dreams tonight, huh? Huh?" I elbowed her jokingly. Alice cracked a smile and chuckled.

"I don't even know the guy, Bella. It couldn't be that much fun."

"Oh, yes it could be! You'll get to dress up and do your makeup and I'll bet he's adorable. Maybe you'll find a good yoga partner."

Alice had tried to get me to do yoga with her for the past four months. At first, I agreed, thinking it would be good for me, but after three weeks poor old me couldn't take it anymore. I had the back pain of an old man lifting a grizzly bear, and my balance wasn't helping me any. I constantly fell out of the positions and the instructor would glare me down until I would just get up and stand in the back of the room until class was over.

"I doubt it, Bells. He'll just be another guy."

"Pish-posh," I waved my hand at her. "You can't possibly know that," I reasoned.

"I'm psychic, Bella. Yes, I can know that." Alice likes to think she's a psychic. No matter how right she was when she guesses, I doubt I would ever believe in psychics. Mumbo-jumbo, is what it is. Let me tell you…

"Whatever, Alice, I don't want to hear anymore. Go and take a shower and get ready for the day. Pick out your date outfit and come get me when you're done. We'll have another day out today," I smiled at her.

Alice leaned over to give me an awkward side-hug. "Thank you, Bella," she said quietly. She kissed my cheek before getting up to put her bowl in the dishwasher and heading to her room.

I tossed the pile of mail that was in my hands and sighed while I leaned back in my chair. Bella Productive Time was officially over.

I printed out the draft I had finished for my letter to Justin. I read it over a few times and decided that it definitely needed work, but I wasn't exactly sure _what_ it needed. I mean I wasn't the greatest of writers, but I knew how to write a persuasive paragraph if need be. Only this one wasn't flowing right; I had all the details and requests wedged into the letter but to me it didn't seem finished. I didn't know what could be so hard about writing this. All I had to do was ask for a bonus (at least, if not haggle my way into getting a paycheck) or a spread or _something_!

I don't know what is up with this company. I had never worked as a photographer with a company with such a strange contract in my life. Granted, I hadn't been in the real world of photography for too long, but I knew what a contract generally looked like; I had seen enough of them.

When I was younger, both of my parents were world-renowned photographers. My mother had started out with it as just a hobby, doing freelance work for local newspapers and keeping a small album of her favorite shots before making a profession of it after meeting my father. My father had grown up around cameras and artists on his side of the family, so he knew what his passion was long before your average person. After making it out of school and into the real world, he got proposals from all sorts of companies to do work for them.

My father had been with _Still Life Photography_ – the agency I'm currently hooked up with – from the start of his career. Many of his pictures can be seen in Justin's office or in the main lobby. Some of my mother's work can be seen there too, as well as in magazines such as _Reader's Digest_, _Family Circle_ and _Good Housekeeping._ Needless to say my mother has subscriptions to all three magazines and positively adores them. She scribbles out her pictures with Sharpie in every single issue, but always reads the rest of the magazine. She only works for them for the free subscriptions; she hates seeing her pictures much like some people prefer not to watch themselves in an embarrassing home video.

But me, I love to see my work out there. I love displaying it and watching people's reactions to the scene. It intrigues me.

I stood up from the table and threw my work-in-progress into my bag as I stretched and yawned. I stumbled my way into the bathroom and turned on the shower as hot as it would go.

*~*~*~*~*

When Alice was finally ready for the day, she picked out my outfit and then we were off to wander the streets of New York City. We drank tea at a favorite café, ate hot dogs, window shopped and even bought tickets off a street vendor to see _Spamalot_ on Broadway. Alice bought us beenies at a small corner shop, and I had to admit they were adorable. Hers was a soft pink while mine was a deep, forest-y green. It was a surprisingly chilly day out today, and the hats fit in remarkably well with our outfits.

Alice was coping amazingly with all that had just happened to her. Neither of us brought it up and we tried to evade all topics that had anything to do with it, but I was still amazed with her. She hadn't cried once since her episode last night.

Maybe five hours into our day, I got a call from _Still Life Photography_ asking if I could come in for a meeting with Justin. They said that anytime within the hour would be fine, so me and Alice hopped in a cab and made our way over to the tall office building. Alice had assured me – after me asking about a thousand times – that she didn't mind the trip. She had never seen where I worked so she was apparently excited to see something new.

I rummaged around in my bag before we arrived to check that I had my letter. I was planning on dropping off a finished version later in the week, but I guess now was as good a time as any.

When we arrived at the building, Alice was practically jumping in her seat while I hyperventilated on her left. The nerves were overwhelming for some reason and I couldn't help but take captive of my bottom lip in between my teeth.

Alice bounced inside ahead of me before stopping just inside the lobby. The white, high-ceilinged room looked impeccably clean and professional and caused her to go wide-eyed.

"Wow," she murmured, taking it all in.

"Yeah, its nice isn't it?" I smiled down at her. She looked so thrilled to be here, it was kind of entertaining.

"I'll say." Alice proceeded to walk to one of the walls to examine the photographs. They were all taken by photographers that had at one time or another worked for the company and had become successful in their careers. I was so waiting for my time to come.

Alice walked up to a particularly bright green photograph of a frog on a lily pad. She admired it for a minute before making her way around the circular room to admire the rest. I followed her silently, watching for her reactions like I always tended to do. She stopped at one in particular that made me smile. This photograph was a shocking shade of blue with a flower in the lower right hand corner that was blooming into the center.

"Charles S. Swan," she read aloud. "Oh my God, Bella, isn't that your dad?" she asked excitedly. I smiled and looked at the picture.

"Yea. He took that in '03. Isn't it neat? It's one of my favorites."

I remembered when my dad took this picture. He had just come home from a trip to South America, much like myself, and was showing me his portfolio he had put together. I remember 'oohing' and 'ahhing' whenever a particularly beautiful picture came up. This had been my favorite in the bunch and he had made me a copy to hang in my bedroom wall. I still have it, but I keep it at home. It never felt right to take it out of the room.

Alice asked me several more questions about my father's work and his history as a photographer. I told her all about his trips around the world and even how he and my mother met. She pestered me to tell her all about the proposal too, hoping it was better than the first date story, which in all honesty, wasn't that hot.

"Aww, Bella! That's adorable!" she smiled up at me. "Just think, to be in Paris when you meet the love of your life! How much more romantic could you get?"

"I don't know, Alice. I'm sure there are tons of more romantic things," I offered while we walked. "I'm sure it was great to be in Paris but location doesn't really matter all that much –"

"Isabella Marie Swan, I swear to God if you say one more thing about Paris not being the most romantic city in the world I will personally drag your ass shopping for the next month with no mercy!"

I cringed. "Paris is great," I amended. Alice smiled. "All I'm saying is that it's what's said that counts more than anything. I mean you could be on the most beautiful boat in the world at night with roses, candles and the whole she-bang, yet the speech would have to be just as lovely. You can't let the scenery do all the romanticizing for you. You have to work it."

"Well, yeah, I mean that's true, but still I'd rather get proposed to on a giant boat than in like, a dark alleyway or something," Alice shrugged. "Someone might steal my ring!" she laughed.

I chuckled and we walked to the front desk as we continued our round around the lobby. "Boats _are_ nice."

After a head-nod filled phone call, the receptionist sent us up to Justin's office on the 18th floor. Alice was bouncing around in the elevator and had an ear-splitting grin on her face.

"And what are you so excited about?" I teased.

"Oh, nothing!" she sang. I laughed at her and her giddiness and waited for the elevator to open for the correct floor. "Are you excited to meet Justin?" I questioned as we walked off the elevator. "Because he isn't very interst- Oof!"

I hit something hard as I walked off the elevator and I was damn certain that it wasn't a wall. Before I hit the ground I felt two arms wrap around my waist, and after I hit the ground I felt 150 lbs crushing me into the carpet.

'Can't. Breathe -!" I felt my face growing hot as I lied on the floor with my head pushed into the carpeting. The body on top of me seemed to be shifting its weight around, putting more pressure on different parts of my body. I squeaked several times before the person got up off of me, and dragged in a huge gulp of air. Alice helped me up and as I struggled to stand. I blushed even harder when I saw two pairs of men's loafers on the ground in front of me. I refused to look up as Alice circled around me, fixing my disarray of hair before picking up my beanie that had fallen to the ground. "Are you alright?" she asked as she dusted it off.

"Yea – yes. I'm fine. Thank you, Alice," I stumbled on my words.

Two other voices asked me the same question just then, both very distinct yet both a deep man's voice. I looked up to find one man closer than the other, reaching his arm out with a look of concern on his face.

The one standing farthest away from me had black hair and a _Still Life_ Staff T-shirt on under a beige vest. How cliché photographer is _that?_ The other man, the closer one, was taller than the first. He had blue eyes and blonde hair, a boyish looking face and was close enough to touch me. They were both good-looking men. I blushed ten-fold.

"I'm so sorry," the blonde man spoke, "I didn't even see you walk out of the elevator. Are you alright?" he asked, concern lacing his tone.

"Yes, I'm okay, th-thank you." I looked down.

"I'm Mike," he said as he reached his hand out. I shook his hand tentatively. "This is Tyler."

"I'm Bella and this is my friend Alice. If you'll excuse us - "

"Where are you going?" Mike asked, seemingly interested. He continued to stare at me.

"I have a meeting, and we really must be going. Thank you for your help." I started to walk down the hallway as Alice followed, when Mike felt the need to ask me something else.

"Can I have your number?"

What? Dear Lord.

"What?"

"Can I have your number?" he repeated.

I looked at him incredulously. "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"No!" Alice burst out laughing beside me, clutching her side as I glared down at her.

"Come on, I'd like to take you to dinner. To make up for practically smothering you," he answered to me. Alice rolled her eyes and turned to continue walking down the hallway, leaving me to fend for myself. I would kill her when I catch up with her. Damn girl.

"Uh, sorry, but I have to go."

"Please?"

"Sorry!" I whirled around and started to run down the hallway before the tip of my shoe caught and I fell again. I got up as quickly as possible before stumbling and running back to Alice. I heard muffled laughter behind me and my blush increased for the umpteenth time.

"Alice, how dare you leave me back there?" I seethed.

"Oops," she giggled. I rolled my eyes and threw my hands in the air.

"Did you want me to humiliate myself?"

"Bells, you already did, I just didn't want to wait around and see what loser back there had to say."

"You suck."

"Love you too, Bella," she laughed.

I was always so jealous of Alice. She carried herself with confidence and always knew what to say in a conversation. She was gorgeous, hilarious, and God knows – coordinate! She had everything she could ever want, while I was just plain and simple.

We made it to Justin's office door and I took a deep breath. I knocked on the foggy glass right below the words _Justin Meyer, C.E.O. Still Life Photography_ and held my breath.

"Come in."

*~*~*~*~*

We sat at home with out feet on the glass coffee table watching _Finding Nemo_, my all-time favorite movie. I was busy quoting every line to the movie silently while Alice was flipping through the fashion magazine I bought her at the airport. I was glad she liked it; it wasn't an extremely well-know magazine, but it had its base in NYC and she said it had promise. If she was happy, I was happy.

Well, uh. Sorta.

The meeting with Justin consisted of a lot of calm arguing on his and my behalves and a lot of bouncing and touching of desk knick-knacks on Alice's part. Justin wasn't too thrilled with that, but only asked her twice not to touch them before giving up. He figured it was a lost cause well before most people did. Props to him.

In the end, after phone calls to publishers and NatGeo, we had agreed that my photos could be used in the documentary and some are under consideration for an ad for the show. So, on those notes, I was thrilled. My dream was coming true, and my name would be out there in the open, but there was still one major downturn. My payment was…not great, to say the least.

I had offered to call my lawyer more than once, but it actually wasn't necessary. I know that it wasn't the smartest this to do – leave out the lawyer – but I knew Justin wasn't trying to screw me over. He had been friends with my father and I've known him for quite some time. He was trying to do all he could but National Geographic wasn't helping any.

In the end, I would not and will not get paid for my trip. The good news was that I didn't have to pay for anything that I did on the trip, such as food rations, gasoline, etc. and Justin gave me a small bonus. It was nothing extraordinary, but it would suffice for the time being. I would still be late on some of my bill payments, but Alice that she would help me since it was her fault I wasn't being paid in the first place. I had told her time and time again that it wouldn't be necessary but she whipped out the puppy-dog eyes on me. It's simply impossible to resist those. It's crazy.

"Hey, Bells?"

"Yes, Alice? What can I do for you?"

"You know how you're all into nature photography? I mean that's the only thing you shoot right?"

"Yea, why?" Alice was fixated on a page in her magazine while she spoke to me. I turned back to the television.

"I was wondering why you chose nature? Why not fashion or commercial or something?"

"Commercial stuff, Alice? Really? That's absurd," I laughed. She didn't respond, but continued to read her magazine. "Um, I don't know. I think it's that nature is just so beautiful. It's innocent and undisturbed." I leaned my head back against the couch as I truly contemplated this for the first time. No one had ever asked me directly why I chose nature. "The true tale of life," I confirmed. " It's not always pretty, but it's real. The story of life and death… and uniqueness. People can do that, sure, but it's not as interesting or worthy, even. It doesn't meet the standards. I think that we all try to imitate it, but it just doesn't add up." I looked over at Alice to see if I could get a reaction. She offered none and so I blushed and looked back to the television.

"Uh-huh. That's real deep Bella," she said sarcastically. "How desperate are you for money?" she asked. Alice picked her head up from her magazine and stared right at me. "How much do you not want me to help you with your bills?"

"I'd rather you didn't pay for anything, so I guess a lot. Very desperate and I don't want you to have to waste money on me. At all…"

"Well, good!" Alice slapped her magazine onto my lap and pointed to an ad on the bottom of the left page. "Read it and weep, Bella Baby."

Photographer Needed

That's all of the ad I actually got to see before Alice started talking to me at such a high speed I had to look at her to try and read lips. "Alice! Slow down! Breathe. Good. Now talk to me like a human."

"Bella don't you see? This is perfect! They're looking for a photographer; you're looking for a job! And it's here in New York! It says it's only for a few days and that the pay is good! I'll call right now!" Alice jumped up off the couch with the magazine and headed toward the kitchen phone.

"Alice!" I shouted. She stopped and turned around.

"Yes?"

"I don't know anything about this job! Care to elaborate before I say yes?"

"Ugh, Bella, who cares? It's for a magazine."

"Okay, _and_?"

"It's a fashion…shoot?" she gave up hesitantly.

"Alice! That's not my thing! I just got done explaining to you about how - "

"Hush, Bella Baby." Alice held her hand up to stop me. "You are looking for a job and you need money. An opening has just literally landed in your lap and you're _turning it down_? Bells, come on! It's only for a few days. Stop whining!"

"Jeez, Alice! But - "

"No buts!"

"But-"

"None!" she shouted. The ring of authority and finality that was in her voice made me want to dissolve into my seat. Who knew someone so tiny could be so threatening?

After no rebuttal from me, Alice jumped up and down and ran into the kitchen. "You won't regret this, Bella! I promise!"

"Let the good times roll," I muttered.

**Thank you for reading! I want to thank Leon McFrenchington who first told me about the contract that Bella had with NatGeo. It is indeed a strange one, but that's how it has to be lol. Im feeling Edward next chapter!**

**Oh, and for those of you thinking that Alice is already on the fat track to healing, she's not. Everybody copes with loss in a different way, and I'm illustrating how Alice does it using personal experience. **

**As always, household items to my reviewers. I hope you enjoyed your phonebooks :) **_Please, please, please_** just take a minute and review! (could I maybe get to 25 reviews overall? Just a thought!) It means the world to me :)**

**Much Love 3**


	4. I'm SO Sorry & Last AN Important

I'm SOOOOO sorry for everything! You know how I said my computer got fixed? Well it broke down again and my external hard drive won't work with the computer I'm currently using because the software isn't compatible. :(

I know you guys are probably sick of the excuses and the latelatelatelatelate updates, and I thank you a million if you haven't given up on me yet, but I just want you to know that I'm not dead, and if all goes well I should be getting a macbook tomorrow (NOT an hp. I'm sick of those . They keep breaking down on me lol)

I got a twitter (yay?) so that if something like this happens again, I won't be flooding your emails and possibly giving you false hope. I'll let you know on there if anything like this happens again, and ill keep you posted on the when-abouts of the new update. Deal? You can hit me up at **twitter(dot)com/TMToF**

I've also been over at Twilighted for a while, but only one chapter's up. The story is going to play out a little differently over there, so if you want to follow both, feel free. I haven't looked at it in a while, but I'm pretty sure it's a little more polished over there…I could be wrong ;). Expect scarce updates, though. Just forewarning you. The story's under my old penname, Take-me-to-Fantasy. Hit it up at **twilighted(dot)?sid=6667**

Lastly, please don't review on this chapter. If you feel the need to review (hah!) could you do it on chapter three, por favor? I just don't want to loose all of your wonderful reviews when I switch out the chapters (whenever it is that it may come -_-)

Thank you guys so much and I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season!

Much Loveee x33


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